South East England-based project Nobody’s Wolf Child have been a steady part of my musical diet for the past two years. Always intriguing and memorable, their eclectic and fantastical sound has a way of pulling the listener into a world that’s equal parts dream and reality.
I was fortunate enough to talk with the outfit’s lead vocalist earlier this year, and I’m thrilled she’s decided to return for round two!
Chatting with us about first hearing ‘Song to the Siren’ in David Lynch’s Lost Highway, what it’s been like performing at some of Europe’s biggest festivals, and why she’s perfectly happy being an independent artist, please give another warm welcome to our friend Nobody’s Wolf Child!
Hi Nobody’s Wolf Child, it’s been a minute! Thanks so much for taking the time once again to chat with us! I’ve been absolutely loving your debut EP ‘Erbsa’s Songs Of The Sea’. It’s truly one of the most hypnotic and ethereal records I’ve heard all year. What do you want our readers to know about your latest offering?
Thank you! I think that the EP feels special. It was made with real love…and sadness. The songs are very close to my heart. I first heard ‘Song to the Siren’ when I was watching David Lynch’s Lost Highway. It’s just a beautiful scene and paired with This Mortal Coil’s version of the song, it was one of those cinematic moments you don’t forget.
Tim Buckley’s original feels closer to the sea and Erbsa heard someone play it in a warm fire lit pub on a wet and windy night. She liked it a lot. So we sang it together.
I’m proud of the EP and it was lovely to spend that time with the wild sea and all its intrigues.
Track two on the EP is ‘Selkie’, an unbelievably delicate song you also released as the EP’s single. I’ve become slightly addicted to it, and I’m wondering if you remember the tune’s “birth” so to speak? What sparked its origin?
Erbsa and I talked a lot while I was very sad and by the sea, watching the seals in the waves. I had little snippets of ‘Secrets and Seabirds’ at that point.
There was a guitar idea, which Matt then recorded and I took it home. Most of ‘Selkie’ immediately popped out, as this tale I’d heard from Erbsa and my personal experiences kind of smashed together. It took me a while to finish, as the man’s verse was stuck inside but after another return to the sea and a shanty festival later, I had it at last.
I truly love the song and the video is so beautiful. I saw the puppet work of Anya Boz and I knew it had to be her to do it.
Now, when we last spoke, you were gearing up to perform at Fantasy Forest UK. You’ve since also played at Europe’s largest fantasy festival, Castlefest. What were those experiences like?
Yeah, they were incredible. A lot of hard work from everyone involved and nerve-wracking because we all wanted it to be perfect. But, to finally perform the music, and in some semblance of how I imagined it, was an incredible experience. It made it all feel real.
You truly get to live in the soul of each song for a brief moment if you can let go enough, and at the first gig I had too much in my head in terms of logistics, but for the second show, I was there. And I didn’t want to be anywhere else.
What, to you, is music’s role in society?
It’s the magic that keeps us ever reaching for that higher place, rather than just being base primitives. It’s the most beautiful and complex language that belongs entirely to the individual as well as the collective. It must absolutely be protected and cherished more in the hearts of everyone. A bit less consumed mindlessly and more beloved and noticed. Because the power music can have over the human senses is nothing short of a wonder.
What is one thing about the music industry that you would change if you had the power to?
What wouldn’t I change…
It’s hard to answer without sounding like I am bitter about something which I’m not. I have no involvement and no interest in the industry. I am a very happy independent artist, just doing my thing with my own goals and dreams. I get frustrated about those things because I’m eager to get to certain stepping stones but they have nothing to do with industry foibles.
But, I think a centralised music industry is no longer required. I think it’s a dead water bloated whale and all that’s left is very bland grey meat.
Einstein famously said, “If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician.” If you were not a musician, what would you be?
A dancer I think. I’d love to have that ability to give myself over entirely to music because I’ve honed my body to be able to do that. To become the physical expression of a piece of music.
Removing the option of anything in performing arts, a spy…but one trained in every kind of conceivable skill and is completely deadly. A Hollywood kind of spy. The Jackal…But I’d not withstand torture of any kind…So, a Cowgirl in Montana who is also a Vet.
Alright, Nobody’s Wolf Child – desert island time! You’re allowed to grab 3 albums before being stranded on an island. Which do you choose?
Ok, my current choices would be:
‘Watership Down Soundtrack’ – It’s my childhood. I’d watch it at every available opportunity. I could be blackmailed into agreeable behaviour with the promise of a viewing. It’s what growing up in the English countryside sounds like to me and If I were stuck on a desert island I’d want to take that sound with me.
Marilyn Manson’s ‘Mechanical Animals’ – It’s all killer no filler. I’ve got an original press coming for Christmas and I’m very excited about it.
It’s tough picking out of the triptych but if only for the slinky sparkly catsuits worn onstage for this era then yeah….It edges forth. I love that after ‘Antichrist Superstar’ this is the direction they went in and pulled it off so perfectly. Flawless.
Manson’s vocals and vocal arrangements are something I fawn over so I’d need that interest with me on my forsaken island.
Paul Simon’s ‘Graceland’ – It was always on when I was little. Always. I know it like the back of my hand and it never fails to please me. I think whether subjectively it’s someone’s “thing” or not, objectively it cannot be denied as one of the great albums. Either way, I just love every track.
His voice is so beautiful and I feel like it would be good for a bit of dancing and singing along by the water’s edge.
I must add that I am about to re-ignite my relationship with Led Zeppelin who are one of my all-time faves. I have not listened to them properly in a while….So can I have a sneaky 4th stowaway?
Thank you again for your time! It’s been a real treat catching up once more! I know you’ve got a seriously busy 2025 planned…Can you let us in on a few key dates to look out for?
So far it’s Castle Party in Poland from 10th-13th July and Fantasy Forest from 18th – 20th July, which has already sold out!
Matt has applied to 400 festivals so we’ll see. It’s very hard to get a gig when one is a newborn live act but the show itself is, from inception, complex. But you know, that’s how it had to be. There was a vision and a very hard baseline for compromise. I’d rather do no things than lots of wrong things.
